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The latest Australian accounting standard on public‐sector accounting (AAS 29) requires government departments at all levels to comply with private‐sector accounting and reporting principles and standards. But this commercially oriented framework may appear alien to departmental managers and may not accommodate many of the unique characteristics of departmental financial accountability. The underlying concepts and terms which take their meaning from the commercial world of profit‐driven markets may be misunderstood, misinterpreted or lead to unintended welfare and distributional consequences. This article examines some of the underlying terms that may be misinterpreted and the possible consequences of their operation in the departmental context.
McGrae et al. (Tue,) studied this question.